Postally Used Souvenir Sheet Stamps

In the last few years I've focused my collection on US regular issues. But I have given myself a dispensation for US souvenir sheets. One thing I've been considering is postally used examples of the stamps on souvenir sheets.

I'm particularly interested in used examples that were not set up by a collector in order to get a covered piece. So, no FDCs, no special cachets, etc. Show my your examples, and give me some thoughts about how hard this might be.

Thanks,
K

The very term "souvenir" sheet suggests that one would primarily retain the example for a collection or "souvenir" of some sort. I doubt there are many who would take the time to cut apart a souvenir sheet for postage, unless it was intentionally to make a philatelic cover out of the example, such as FDC's, pictorial cancellations, etc. I have a number of souvenir sheet examples from the 1930's through the 1960's, but virtually all were attached to philatelic mail. I know in recent years there have been perforated souvenir sheets such as the reprints of the Columbian and Trans Mississippi issue, but again few non-collectors would be bothered to tear apart those sheets for postage.

I have hundreds of the #1311 Souvenir Sheet in mint condition. They will never be worth more than the face value of five cents, so I had cut apart a couple of dog-eared ones and came up with some nice oversized margin examples of the stamp cut out of a souvenir sheet. However, if I were going to attach it to mail today, I would only get an ugly spray-on cancel as a result and I actually wonder if the USPS would even recognize it as a legitimate imperforate stamp today and risk delaying my mail as a result.

I'd be interested in other SCF members experiences, however, as I said at the beginning, I doubt you would find too many that legitimately saw postal use outside of the philatelic market.

That's what I'm thinking too, wt1. Now a days people don't use many stamps except booklets. Even the everyday commems. don't get postally used much. But I wonder how hard it would be to say get the presidential series or the bicentennial sheets used. That is, when stamp usage was a little more common. I've never seen them, but I haven't looked that hard yet.